Crystal Palace have announced the signing of the former Fulham captain Brede Hangeland on a one-year contract.

The 33-year-old Norway international’s six-and-a-half year stay at Craven Cottage came to an end after they decided not to offer the defender a new deal following their relegation from the Premier League.

Hangeland, who claims to have been informed of his release by email, played over 200 league games for Fulham and will provide stiff competition to the likes of Scott Dann, Paddy McCarthy and Damien Delaney for a place in the heart of Tony Pulis’ defence. He becomes the third new arrival at Selhurst Park following deals for the Blackpool goalkeeper Chris Kettings and Fraizer Campbell from Cardiff.

Pulis, who took over at Palace in November, guided the Eagles to 11th place and became the first manager to keep the south London club in the Premier League beyond a single campaign.

“I’m delighted to be here. I look forward to helping out and doing the best I can for this club,” he told Palace’s official website. “I’m quite old school as a player, I just want to be part of a good group of players, working for a good manager, working really hard and driving something in the right direction.

“All the people I spoke to told me that’s what’s going on at Crystal Palace and I really wanted to be a part of that. It’s a traditional club with a big following. I thought the atmosphere here was fantastic and obviously the fans had a lot to be happy about come the end of the season.

“If we can do something similar to that this season, that would be great. I’m really looking forward to playing in front of those fans as soon as possible.”

Fulham have signed Bulgaria centre-back Nikolay Bodurov from Litex Lovech on a three-year contract to fill the void left by Hangeland. “The deal includes an option for one more year,” the four-times Bulgarian champions said on Friday, adding that Bodurov had joined his new club at their training camp in Innsbruck, Austria. The 28-year-old, considered one of the best defenders in the Balkan country, has played 24 times for the national team since making his debut in 2010 and won two league titles with Litex.

Fulham, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, will bid for an immediate return to the top flight under Felix Magath.